According to the Federal Government, the Nigerian financial sector now has more opportunities thanks to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).
According to the administration, the free trade agreement with Africa will expand the financial technology market and generate $3.4 trillion in opportunities.
President Muhammadu Buhari, said on Tuesday at the 15th Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja that new opportunities presented by expanding infrastructure and advancing financial technology could be used by participants in the country’s finance sector to increase profits and create more jobs.
“In repositioning itself, the finance sector would serve not just as an intermediary for lenders and borrowers but in creating a new ecosystem consisting of platforms where ordinary Africans can buy and sell their locally- made products despite currency disparity as being practised on the Pan- African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a brainchild of Afrexim Bank,” \ Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed said.
According to Buhari, the sector should extend its product offerings and deepen the market in order to finance Nigeria’s infrastructure and corporate investment needs, all the while formulating plans to increase the country’s insurance penetration.
He added that by utilising the chances offered by other digital trading platforms, such as warehousing, collateral management, and crowd-funding, the industry had the ability to utilise advances in fintech for the extension of financial services to the underserved population.
Players in the insurance and financial services sectors make up Nigeria’s finance sector. The industry is expected to have already contributed around 3.7% of 2022’s projected N7tn gross domestic output.
